What’s your goal for 2012’s angling season? What, you don’t have a fishing goal? New Year’s Eve has worn off and “The Ball” has dropped, yet you have no angling goals? Talk about dropping the ball!
I know, I know, it’s very cliché to be talking about goals for the brand new year, but somehow I can’t escape it. People are talking about all the great things they intend to do in the next 12 months and I’ve been sucked into the hype. I guess it’s okay really, because everyone’s doin’ it, and besides, there is certainly some validity to the concept of planning for positive change. Since I’m just a lowly fisherman, I’m going to stick to angling goals; we’ll leave the life changers to those with a higher purpose than just teaching people to fish.

Back in college, I had a professor who spent a week of his life driving home the concept of goals and their importance to successful business development. The lecture content spilled over to all aspects of life, and by the end of that semester, I had a stated goal to be goal oriented. Words like “specific” and “obtainable” are now, even 15 years after college, forever intertwined with the word “goal” in my mind. Can’t remember that prof’s name, but his teachings are still with me.

And I’m here to say that his concepts will help you catch more fish.

First, let’s clarify that goals, as they pertain to fishing, need not be negative or viewed with dread like say, “losing 20 pounds” might be. After all, nobody really likes jogging with ankle weights or whatever ridiculous exercise it is people endure for the sake of weight loss. Another common goal is work related; climbing the corporate ladder. It’s a noble goal and all, but who actually wants to work a bunch of overtime to appease “The Man”? Certainly not me, to the point that my whole college education focused on self-employment – but let’s not digress. My point is that fishing goals are fun to chase, fulfilling to achieve, and generally bring purpose to the largely purposeless pastime of sportfishing.

So I ask again, what is your angling goal for ‘ought twelve? Still nothing? Well, here’s mine; my goal for 2012 is to advance my angling.  Sounds great, right? But what happened to specific and obtainable? Good question. That goal is vague at best and how would I know when I accomplished it? I won’t, so that’s really my big picture, a path to travel so to speak. The specific goals needed to navigate said path are where I’ll focus my efforts, gauge my progress, and ultimately achieve a series of successes. By year’s end, the sum of all my smaller achievements will determine whether or not I really advanced as an angler. What we need to look at are my smaller goals and how they’ll affect change on my overall angling. Finally, the meat of the topic!

I’ve said it a thousand times in lectures, seminars and TV shows; if you’re fishing lures, accuracy and control catch more fish than all the fancy lures combined. So, this year I’m going to take my accuracy to a whole new level. I’ll set up a series of target-based drills around my yard and I will perform those drills until I can hit those targets 95 percent of the time, overhand, backhand, underhand, side armed, pitched and flipped, upwind, downwind and across wind, with fly, spin, and casting tackle at any range I can cast. The target size will vary with distance and tackle to keep it as realistic as possible. I’ll make a game out of it (think darts meets golf) and enlist my buddies to play, thereby including a competitive motivator. By the end of this year, my accuracy score will be a solid “A”, and fish will find out that there is no longer any place to hide.

In angling, there is no substitute for experience, so to that end I’ll set a goal to pick four anglers (most likely guides or tournament guys) who are extremely experienced at the specific types of presentations that are my weakest. I will then block time to fish with them. I’ll compile a list of questions which I’ll present to them for consideration prior to our outing. The outings will be focused on my education, and I’ll know I accomplished my goal if I walk away with a clear understanding and confidence with whatever technique I went to learn. This goal might be a bit expensive, but I look at it as continued professional education. Companies invest in employee education, athletes pay trainers; why shouldn’t I invest in my skill set given that Fishful Thinker LLC’s product is teaching others to fish?
Along the same lines will be the advancement of my SONAR/GPS skills. I will know every menu in my Lowrance units by heart prior to launching in spring. I’ll know what the terms mean, and how they affect the image I’m staring at on the dash. Furthermore, I will devise and implement a system of waypoint management so that my electronics reach their full potential as fish catching tools. When I can make SONAR adjustments or locate and manage a waypoint instantaneously without having to think about it, I will have accomplished my goal

This one sounds silly, but a goal will be to catch a fish on a spoon on every outing all year (guiding excepted of course – can’t practice on a client’s dime!). Why? Because I feel strongly that spoons and jigs are the most versatile artificial baits an angler can employ. I’ve fished jigs from micro to macro so much that I’m very comfortable with them in any situation and it’s usually the first rig I grab. Spoons, well, let’s just say that there is more room for improvement. They can be worked at literally any depth range, vertically or horizontally (or better yet a hybrid of both) for any species, on ice or open water. I’ll carry a solid cross section of styles and sizes and purposefully try them in every situation I encounter. This goal will be automatically accomplished after twelve months of disciplined fishing, and I’m betting it’ll be worth the dedication.

So there you have it – I jumped on the New Year’s goal bandwagon. Even tried to drag you along, but if you set a few goals related to your angling skills and give it an honest effort, I truly think you’ll have more fun, and I’m sure you’ll catch more fish. Happy New Year!